Femme Fatale
by CBloom2
Summary: Based on Holby Sin City, involving BOTH brothers. A kind of a tag on scene from the police station - so there may be spoilers if you haven't seen the episode.
1. Chapter 1

**So, what did you think about Holby Sin City? Personally it was a Marmite episode for me, you either loved it or hated it! I enjoyed it because Ethan was front and centre and I loved seeing George portraying all the different emotions, but it was not my favourite episode at all. Anyhow, as always, I wanted to see more of Cal so I'm going to stick in a small scene of my own - hope you like it.**

 **As usual I don't own anyone that you recognise.**

 **Femme Fatale**

 _Femme Fatale " a woman who is very attractive in a mysterious way, usually leading men into danger or causing their destruction"_

"Are you going to be alright?" Robyn's voice broke through the fog in his mind. Ethan glanced at her and nodded slightly, "I don't think I'm in any fit state to work..."

"Don't worry, I'll tell Hansenn that you were ill and had to go home," she assured him.

He tried to muster up a smile but it was hard work. She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and squeezed it as she got to her feet and left him alone to his muddled thoughts.

Ethan shivered as he felt her presence leave his side, then he leaned forward and dropped his head to his chest. His head felt as if it was full of cotton wool. He felt nauseous as the drug that Bonnie had used flowed through his system still. He wanted to make his way home but he really didn't think he could muster up enough energy to even move.

Suddenly he became aware of another presence beside him, "Ethan!"

The younger man's head jerked up at the calling of his name, shocked to see his brother's anxious face staring at him, "Cal? What...?"

"Robyn text me...told me something had happened...are you alright?" He rushed out, looking at his brother and not liking what he saw.

"I'm fine...well actually I don't think I am..." Ethan scrunched his face up in confusion.

When there was nothing more forthcoming from his brother, Cal finally noticed what he was wearing, "What are you wearing? You're soaking wet!" He exclaimed as he reached out to touch the sleeve of the raincoat.

Ethan looked down at himself, "I...I don't know...I think it was left at reception..."

"Ethan, talk to me. What happened?"

Cal drew in a sharp breath when the young doctor turned towards him and he saw his pupils well and truly dilated, "Are you high?"

No, no, no! There was no way that his brother was taking drugs...just no way!

"Excuse me, have you come to take Mr Hardy home?" Cal turned to see a police officer staring down at them.

"It's Doctor Hardy, and yes I am here to take him home. Do you know what happened?"

"Doctor Hardy and a couple of his colleagues came in to report a murder...it seems a young woman whom Dr Hardy had seen a few times previously had decided that she had had enough of her life with her man and managed to persuade him to kill himself..."

"It's my fault," Ethan whispered.

"Shhh, don't be stupid, how can it be? So what happened to my brother?" Cal turned his attention back to the police officer.

"It seems that he was drugged by the woman who decided that it was time to tell her story as she thought that Dr Hardy was to out of it to remember...but he did, plus two colleagues backed his story and found evidence of their own - we are hopeful of an arrest very soon."

"Drugged? My brother was drugged?" Cal almost yelled in shock.

"Bonnie...you remember Bonnie?" Ethan whispered.

Cal wracked his brain as the name was familiar, "She fell down the stairs...said I was cute..."

Cal did remember the dark haired beauty who seemed to have a soft spot for his brother and vice versa. He recalled how Ethan was quick to want the police involved for some reason and how he had been one of the first people to visit her after surgery.

"I remember, you thought that she was in an abusive relationship..."

"She was...after the incident, I went to see her...I told her that she didn't have to live like that...that there were options...it's my fault that Clyde was shot..that he's dying."

Cal looked from his distressed brother to the police officer, who just shook his head as if to say that he had nothing to worry about. He quickly took his leave.

"Cal, I don't feel so good," Ethan mumbled, yet still made no effort to move himself.

"You won't for a while I'm afraid bro...come on let's go home."

Suddenly, Ethan pulled himself up so that he was sitting straight, "Cal? What are you doing here?" he asked as if it was the first time he had seen him.

The older brother sighed, "I've come to rescue my damsel in distress brother..." he smiled.

His smile didn't last long as his little brother's face paled and he slumped down once more, the shivering becoming more intense, "Come on Ethan, we need to get you home and warmed up," he told him.

"I'm sorry Cal..." Ethan mumbled sadly.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for Eth. It wasn't your fault," his brother tried to reassure him.

"I'm sorry about the grief I gave you about Taylor. I said all those things and look at me...I fell for a lying, murdering sl..."

"I don't think that you want to finish that sentence Ethan. That's not you. With regards to Taylor, everything you said was spot on, I just didn't want to believe it. Now it's my turn to look after you...I can't believe that she drugged you. Next time you fall for someone, make sure that she's not so buckets of crazy!"

Ethan finally chuckled slightly, "She's not," he mumbled.

Cal smiled widely as he flung an arm around his little brother and hoisted him to his feet. Ethan listed to one side as his co-ordination was shot at that moment so he leaned against a wall to keep himself upright, "Oh Ethan..." Cal couldn't help the misting that was covering his eyes. He had never seen his brother so vulnerable before, "Come on let's get you home...we need to get you out of these wet clothes before you catch pnuemonia - then I'll get you a nice hot drink to warm you right through. Then in the morning, when hopefully you are back to being Ethan, we'll have a discussion about crazy, manipulative women."

"A femme fatale..." Ethan mumbled as he was led out of the police station and into the pouring rain once more.

"What?"

"A femme fatale...a mysterious woman who is very attractive and leads men into danger, which can also be destructive," Ethan explained to his confused brother.

"You got that right, little brother!"

 **So that's it. Personally I'm not to keen on this, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm not sure it was such a good idea after all.**

 **Question: Do you think that they will delve into Ethan and Cal's background at all? There have been a few mentions about them having different surnames, and being asked why, yet they skirt the issue. I'm wondering if they may give us some background into the Hardy/Knight relationship.**

 **The summer holidays start on Friday - yey! So if anyone has any ideas that they might want me to tackle, please feel free to ask me. I can't promise anything but I will give them a good go! Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me - til next time xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, I just want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed and favourited this story. Someone mentioned that they might like to see another chapter, so I thought I would give it a go. So a small, fluffy update with the brothers.**

 **Femme Fatale - Chapter 2**

Within a hour of leaving the police station, Cal had driven an extremely weary Ethan back to the flat and was in the process of trying to get him through the door, "Come on Eth, a little help here," he huffed as once more, as his little brother almost dropped in a heap on the floor. Ethan tried to pull himself more upright, to help himself move more independantly, but every time he did dizziness washed over him and he found himself leaning on something for support, this time it was the doorway to the lounge.

Cal slipped an arm around his waist to anchor him, "We need to get you out of those wet clothes, and I need to return this coat and hat to the ED. I can't believe you took someone else's clothes," he said as he shook his head. Ethan dragged his gaze to what he was wearing, "This isn't mine," he mumbled, "Where did I get this?" He looked at Cal in confusion.

Cal shook his head once more, "Well apparently, you took a liking to it in the ED..."

"I don't remember..." the younger man murmered as he tried to unfasten the coat, with little success.

Cal turned him round so that he was leaning on the wall once more for support, then he took off the coat and led his brother to his bedroom. Ethan all but fell on the bed, groaning, "Why do people do this for fun?" he wondered out loud, "I feel awful."

Cal looked at his brother with sympathy, "I know..." he began until he realised what he was saying. He hoped it was lost on Ethan - no such luck.

"How can you know?" Ethan demanded, staring straight at his brother now.

"Well you know how it is at University and the like...I tried it a couple of times..."  
"Oh Cal, you didn't..." Ethan breathed out.

"I only tried it. I hated it the first time and the second time someone spiked my drink. I haven't touched anything since - that's the truth."

Ethan dropped his aching head into his hands once more, "Good..." he whispered.

"Can you get your clothes off yourself? Or do you need a hand?"

"I think I can manage thanks," the younger man told him.

"I'll go and make you some tea - that'll warm you up. Can you manage something to eat?"

Ethan paled significantly, "I'll take that as a no," Cal chuckled as he left his brother to his task.

Cal pottered about the kitchen, making some tea and making himself something to eat, having heard his stomach making strange noises as he came out of Ethan's room.

As soon as the tea was made, Cal went back to his brother. He wasn't surprised to see the younger man fast asleep with his covers pulled up high under his chin, just like he always did when he was a child. Cal realised that it would be useless to leave the tea, so he took it back out with him, grabbed his sandwich and sat in the lounge. After he had eaten, he decided to phone Robyn to see if he could find out what exactly had happened that night. Luckily he caught her on a break, so she had some time to explain Ethan's evening.

To say he was surprised might have been an understatement, but his surprise turned to anger as he contemplated what had actually happened to his brother.

"NO!"

" _What was that?"_ Robyn asked over the phone as Cal shot up of his seat.

"It's Ethan. Look I've got to go. Thanks Robyn."

He quickly shut off the phone and dashed into his brother's bedroom. As he flung open the door he noticed panicked movement in his brother's bed and a tangle of covers that indicated that Ethan was in the throes of a nightmare. He dashed to his side, "No, you can't do that...I have to tell...police...we are brothers...don't..."

"Ethan...Ethan," Cal whispered as he didn't want to upset his brother.

Without warning, Ethan's eyes snapped open as he launched himself from the bed straight into the bathroom to throw up, even though he had nothing much to throw up. He groaned softly as he slumped to the floor next to the toilet, looking up when he head his brother's footsteps stop in the door way.

"Mm...alright..." he ground out while letting his head fall back on the wall and closing his eyes.

"I'd be more inclined to agree with you if you weren't the same colour as that towel over there," his brother answered, "Come on let's get you up."

"I don't want to go back to bed - can I sit on the sofa for a while?" Ethan looked miserable.

"Yes, of course..." Cal reached out a hand to help him up, which the younger man took gratefully.

He staggered into the lounge leaning heavily on his brother and was relieved to be sat on the sofa. He let out a deep breath, closing his eyes to relieve some of the tension. Cal nudged him with a glass of water in his hand. Ethan took it, savouring the coolness of the liquid as it slid down his throat. He actually felt a bit better after throwing up and having a drink of cold water, "I'm sorry," he said once more.

Now it was Cal's turn to sigh, "We've been through this Ethan, there's nothing to be sorry about...do you want to talk about it?" he ventured, wondering if his brother would open up now that he was feeling a little better.

Ethan frowned as he slowly shook his head, "Robyn filled me in on some of it," Cal admitted to him, noticing how his brother's frame tensed slightly, "What were you dreaming about?" he finished.

Ethan looked to the floor, "I was reliving the moment when she told me everything that she'd done...I could feel that something was wrong, but I didn't know what. I'm a doctor and I couldn't tell I was being drugged myself!"

Ethan swiped at his face in irritation, "It certainly sounded like she knew what she was doing, according to Robyn," Cal told him.

"Did Robyn tell you that it was my fault?" Ethan asked earnestly.

Cal blew out a breath as he leaned forward to see Ethan's face, "She told me that you thought it was your fault, but it wasn't. You advised her to get help from the right people - not become a cold blooded killer. You've got to stop blaming yourself Ethan. Listen to me, it wasn't your fault!"

Ethan felt tears build in his eyes once more, " Part of me knows that, but I still can't quite convince the rest of me!"

Cal sighed as he realised that there was nothing that he could say at that moment in time that would convince his little brother not to blame himself. Maybe once the drug was out of his system, then he may see things a little clearer, "Do you want another glass of water?"

Ethan nodded. He was suddenly feeling quite thirsty, "Thanks Cal. I'm sorry I've been so needy."  
"It's about time I look after you, you've done it often enough for me," his brother smiled as he left the younger man getting more comfortable on the sofa.

He came back in a few minutes later to find his little brother curled up on the sofa, fast asleep, looking more relaxed than he had in the last couple of hours. He picked up a throw and covered the younger man, his hand lingering on the sleeping man's shoulder, to remind him that he was still there. He stood up ready to leave when a hand caught his own as he took it from Ethan's shoulder, "Don't go," the younger man whispered.

Cal smiled slightly as he sat himself on the sofa. Ethan woke a little - just enough so that he could manouvere himself so that he was sleeping under his brother's protective arm around him. Ethan covered them both with the throw as Cal brought him a little closer and closed his eyes.

Sleep claimed them both very quickly.

 **Not my best work, there wasn't really anywhere to go with it. I think I might have dragged it out for far to long. I'm sure you'll let me know what you think. Thanks again for all the reviews before. The summer holidays begin soon so I'm hopeful of more inspiration.**


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